Blair Kinghorn links up with Lions – and wakes up captain Maro Itoje

Blair Kinghorn has revealed his first act upon arrival into the British and Irish Lions camp in Australia was to wake up captain Maro Itoje.

Two days after helping Toulouse clinch a third successive Top 14 title by beating Bordeaux in extra-time at the Stade de France, Kinghorn joined up with his new team-mates for the first time.

And the Scotland full-back was given a shock when he entered his bedroom at the Lions’ Brisbane hotel on Monday night.

“I was with Maro. I got in about quarter to 12. I was thinking, ‘Surely there won’t be anyone in the room’,” he said.

“I go in, chuck the bags down and up he pops. I was like, ‘Uh, sorry!’ He’d been sleeping and I woke him up. It was funny – he woke up, shook my hand and went straight back to sleep.”

Kinghorn played 100 minutes of the Top 14 final and celebrated deep into the night before heading to the airport at midday to catch his flight from Paris to Brisbane.

“My bag was packed. I had to make sure everything was ready before going up from Toulouse to Paris on the Thursday,” said Kinghorn, who recently returned from eight weeks out with a knee injury.

“Luckily my mum and my wife were there to help me take everything up because packing for two separate things is a bit stressful.

“I think I’ve got everything. All you need is your boots and your passport, so that’s fine.

“It’s good to finally be here and it feels a bit more real for me now. I’ve got all the kit and I’m with the boys.”

The Lions’ third fixture on tour, against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday, has come too soon for Kinghorn to make his debut, but Saturday’s New South Wales Waratahs clash is a realistic target.

While he is playing catch-up in the race for full-back duties against Australia, having arrived eight days later than the rest of the squad, he is very familiar with the environment he has entered.

“At Toulouse, the squad is so deep and so talented that you’ve got to be on top of your game. You’ve got to work hard in training every day,” he said.

“Coaches are on your back the whole time, which is great. It’s high pressure, but it makes you thrive.

“It’s the same with the Lions. Everyone’s here to do their best and to win the Test series and have a successful tour. Every training session is going to be competitive.”

A future Lions tour to France became a talking point in the build-up to the expedition Down Under, but Kinghorn believes the Top 14 would provide a significant obstacle to overcome if the rotation of destination countries is to be expanded.

“There would be no jetlag for starters. It would be pretty cool,” Kinghorn said.

“I don’t know how happy the French clubs would be, though, because the Top 14 season is so gruelling and so long. But the public would love it. It would be awesome.”